Debenhams, the department store chain, has reported a fall in sales as it faces challenging market conditions.

In a trading update the stores group said like-for-like sales in the 17 weeks to December 30, 2017, were down 2.6 per cent , although digital sales were up 9.9 per cent.

The early weeks of the quarter were said to be disappointing with the first week of post-Christmas sale below expectations.

Pre-tax profits for the year are now expected to be in the range of £55 million to £65 million against earlier forecasts from analysts of around £83 million.

Sergio Bucher, chief executive of Debenhams, said: "The market has been challenging and particularly promotional in some of our key seasonal categories and we have responded in order to remain competitive for our customers, which has impacted our profit performance.

"Nevertheless, we are seeing positive early signs from the changes we have made as part of our Debenhams Redesigned strategy. The market dynamics we have seen have reinforced our view that we need to move even faster to implement the cultural and organisational changes needed to ensure Debenhams is in the best possible shape for today's fast-changing retail environment.

"I am grateful to my colleagues for their hard work and I am proud of the service improvements we have delivered, whilst maintaining a rapid pace of change throughout the organisation, including strong new hires to important management roles. I look forward to updating on progress with our strategy in April."

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

Pictured: Debenhams store in Gloucester.